Sex Pistols TV Series Directed by Danny Boyle Coming to FX
One of the most outrageous and iconic early pioneers of the punk rock scene, the Sex Pistols, will be the basis for a new series for FX. According to Variety, the six-episode series will based upon guitarist Steve Jones' 2018 memoir "Lonely Boy: Tales From a Sex Pistol" and will be directed by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle.
Production on the series is expected to start in March with the series currently using the title Pistol. Boyle will also serve as an executive producer on the series.
Casting has already been set in motion with Toby Wallace cast as Jones, Anson Boon as singer Johnny Rotten, Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook and Fabien Frankel as Glen Matlock. The series has also cast Sydney Chandler as Chrissie Hynde, Emma Appleton as Nancy Spungen, and Maisie Williams as punk icon Jordan.
Boyle, whose directing credits include Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later and Yesterday, said in a statement to Variety, “Imagine breaking into the world of The Crown and Downton Abbey with your mates and screaming your songs and your fury at all they represent. This is the moment that British society and culture changed forever. It is the detonation point for British street culture … where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion … and everyone had to watch and listen … and everyone feared them or followed them. The Sex Pistols. At its center was a young charming illiterate kleptomaniac – a hero for the times – Steve Jones, who became in his own words, the 94th greatest guitarist of all time. This is how he got there.”
Sex Pistols had a brief and combustible career highlighted by the iconic 1977 punk album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. Despite their short run, the band's influence has been immense with the group receiving induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. But in true Sex Pistols fashion, the band did not attend the ceremony and called the Rock Hall "a piss stain" in a message to the organizers.